


Hypothetical Talks

by Isondiel



Category: Fire Emblem Echoes: Mou Hitori no Eiyuu Ou | Fire Emblem Echoes: Shadows of Valentia, Fire Emblem 外伝 | Fire Emblem Gaiden
Genre: Awkward Crush, F/F, Misunderstandings
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2018-05-11
Updated: 2018-05-11
Packaged: 2019-05-05 12:52:50
Rating: General Audiences
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 1
Words: 1,253
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/14619000
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Isondiel/pseuds/Isondiel
Summary: Mae's B support with Celica leads to a misunderstanding.





	Hypothetical Talks

It was getting quite late into the night and the camp had fallen into its regular nighttime quietness. The fire from the lookout station was the only sound breaking the chorus of sleeping souls, and the occasional yawn of Valbar who had offered to be up for the night. The band was fairly exhausted from their day. Conquering pirates and then spending the remaining short time of the evening gathering supplies and loot from the hideout before setting up camp for the night.

Boey was walking towards his tent after finishing giving Valbar a few instructions regarding their general lookout routines, when he heard a loud groan coming from a nearby tent. Knowing who the sound belonged to, he carefully approached and whispered through the door.

''What have you done now?'' He asked Mae who, after a few seconds of silence, he found to be curled up in her camp bed inside the tent. 

He walked in and sat at her side, seeing that she was indeed awake yet covering her head with a pillow.

''Something terrible.'' She answered in a muffled voice through the fabric.

''Don't tell me you took the axe Celica asked us to leave for Valbar. You don't need axes. I don't care if it's encrusted in rubies and rubies are the coolest thing you've ever seen, it's a weapo-''

She interrupted his rant when she sat up, holding the pillow tightly and looked straight at him.

''Celica thinks I'm in love with you.'' She blurted out.

This gave him pause and his eyes grew wide.

''Wai-what?'' He stammered.

''I know right?! I want to die.''

''How did this happen? She knows you're like my sister, how could she even consider that?''

''I sighed, she got concerned and I didn't know what to say without sounding too obvious so I talked hypothetically and you DAMN well know what happens when I try to have hypothetical conversations!''

''Woa, hush, quiet down. Don't want to wake up the whole camp...''

Mae fell back into silence, looking on the brink of tears.

Boey breathed in, knowing how deep the issue ran and how much this meant to Mae. The girl had been helplessly in love with Celica since her arrival in Novis. Well... maybe not since the very beginning, but it had developed quickly, and was now more then ever Mae's most maddening source of torment. Especially since they had left the priory, following Celica's leadership into the unknown. 

Mae never had to feel rushed about speaking of her feelings when they were on the island. It felt like the days were never-ending, like Celica would never have to leave, like she would never have to shoulder the burden of a country that was hers to rule. But the moment Celica announced that she needed to leave for Mila's temple, Mae had been restless and honestly quite the pain. Boey was the first witness and the first to sigh and push her to confess before it was too late.

By ''too late'' he was mostly assuming that leaving the priory would put Celica on a path towards the throne, especially with the king now dead. And that meant Mae had to make a decision before Celica became out of reach. If she became Queen, who knew what would happen to their friendship. Boey wanted to say that they would remain the same, but leading a country was a burden hard to imagine, and he honestly preferred the idea of returning home to the island after all this. A fancy castle life serving the throne was not something he foresaw in his future.

''You have to tell me what happened if you want my input.''

She whined like a wounded puppy.

''I said stuff about liking someone but that someone not seeing me as a woman, and then she jumped to the conclusion that... well, she didn't specifically say but I know what she thought...''

''You a mind-reader now?''

''Very funny, smartypants. If you had heard the conversation you would have come to the same conclusion I did. Me and my stupid mouth! Why couldn't I just come out and say it to her clearly for once?''

''Because you love her and don't want her to think any less of you.''

''Oh she wouldn't, I'm not worried about that. I can't think of a thing that would make Celica think less of somebody... Well, short of going around stabbing people for no reason and insulting Mother Mila, maybe. But that's beside the point! I can't say it because I don't want to burden her with my... well, my stupid feelings.''

''Why would that be a burden to her? Celica has made it pretty clear in the past that she holds you in high esteem as a dear friend and values your opinion. So why would it be impossible for it to be more?''

''Because!'' Mae shouted before Boey motioned for her to quiet down once more. ''Because.. she's a Princess, she's so brilliant, so radiant... and I'm me.''

Silence fell between them. Boey wanted to argue against her point in many ways, but without knowing how Celica herself felt about her future as potential Queen of Zofia, he could hardly reassure Mae on that matter. Celica being a Princess and this interfering with Mae's feelings was not a question of Mae's worth as a person, but more a question of difference in life choices, and lifestyles. Boey knew that, like him, Mae had no intentions of serving royalty and living the fancy life. She preferred the simpler life on the island. And he could see that in her plight against Celica's royalty, Mae was wishing that Celica could be more... well, normal.

''That's a conversation you should have with her.'' He sighed after a moment of watching Mae sulk. ''We both know the subject of royalty is touchy with her. But if you don't want to confess, the least you could do is ask her how she feels about Zofia's succession. And if she considers taking the throne, then you might need to do some thinking too. Loving someone is nice and all, but if you don't have the same opinion regarding the future you see yourselves into, then it's a pretty bad start to any relationship, even just a friendship.''

''But knowing we might have to part one day doesn't stop us from being her friends now... So why should it be different about love?''

Boey opened his mouth to speak, but was a loss. Mae seldom made sensible remarks, but this one definitely was one of them.

''Ah, you're right.'' He smiled.

''I am?''

He laughed. ''Yeah, you're right.When I picture Celica as Queen, I see myself back on Novis, returning to my normal life. But that doesn't mean I am not giving my all for her right now. The possibility that we might part in the future is irrelevant to the fact that I want to help and support her as a long time friend in the present. Because I believe in the cause she's fighting for. So forget what I said, I was wrong. A finite relationship in the present with an uncertain future is better than no relationship at all, no?''

Mae's smile crept back onto her face only to dim seconds later.

''But that doesn't fix what happened today...''

''Words can fix it.''

''In the end... I have to stop being hypothetical.''

''Gotta be literal.''

She let herself fall back on her bed with a groan.


End file.
